A blog about running
that has metamorphosed
into one about life in general.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Long Beach Grand Prix & Running Into Gnats

It’s Long Beach Grand Prix weekend and for those of you who have only been running in the past 10 years, you may not know that there used to be a Grand Prix 10K race which started and finished near the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose (Howard Hughes’ wooden plane which has since moved to Oregon). I was running with the Runner’s High club at the time when my 10K time was in the 48 minute range while the fastest guys in the club were in the low 30 minute range. Anyway, just a memory from a now defunct race.

Okay, about recovering from my most recent ankle setback, I sort of ran last Thursday and managed to do an hour of the 4 minute run/1 minute walk Galloway training technique. It was mostly a slow shuffle but certainly not my slowest since I started training more that way. On Saturday, I was able to do an hour test run at a 10 minute pace. Not too bad especially since I wasn’t expecting to be able to run so soon. The surprise was not that I was able to run an hour but that I was able to run at all. I have to admit that an hour was a stretch considering I’m supposed to be making my ankles heal. I resisted the urge to pick up the pace even when my breathing loosened up. Okay, maybe I did pick up the pace for about a quarter mile before my ankles reminded me to slow down and said no thanks, not today. The aerobic engine is still working but one of the axles is broken while the other needs grease.

It never fails. Every spring I always run into a swarm of gnats. You can’t avoid them because by the time you see the swarm, it’s directly in front of your face. All you can do is close your eyes and turn your head. Since you are sweaty, some of the gnats inevitably end up on your face, hair, and shirt but hopefully not in your nose and mouth. Yuck!

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About Me

I started writing this blog to chronicle my devastating running injury in October of 2008. It has since turned into something I didn't expect: stories and anecdotes about everyday life. On 7/26/11, I retitled this blog from noeldlp.blogspot.com to aboutlifeandrunning.blogspot.com. I remain permanently injured with PTTD on both ankles but I keep on trying to run nonetheless. I'm not sure if it's passion or insanity. You be the judge.